Pickleball Magazine 3-1 | Page 25

K IT C H E N FO OT FAU LTS THE KITCHEN IS THE FLAT COURT SURFACE EITHER TEAM CAN CALL A FOOT FAULT LINE CALLS VS. FOOT FAULTS In the USAPA rule book, when there are no referees or line judges present, each player makes his or her own line calls. This has led some people to believe that only you are allowed to make a call on anything on your side of the court. However, a foot fault is not a line call, and it falls under a separate category. Therefore, kitchen foot faults are open so that either team can make the call. And, if we’re honest, the opponent may have a better view of whether or not I committed a foot fault because I’m concentrating on the ball. BE A GOOD SPORT Even though the opponent can call the foot fault, we have to remember that pickleball is a sport of integrity and good sportsmanship. We want to focus on playing the game and improving everyone’s level of play and not just calling foot faults in order to win. If there is a disagreement, be polite. Don’t get into a big argument. Just agree to replay the point. You can either call a foot fault as it happens, or let the point finish and then call it. Also, be sensitive to throwing off someone’s game play by continuously calling foot faults. The purpose for calling foot faults in recreational play is to improve the game for everyone. BE A GOOD SPORT & HAVE INTEGRITY HELP EACH OTHER IMPROVE HELP EACH OTHER ON THE COURT How does calling foot faults help improve your game? Well, when we call each other’s foot faults, we learn better body position and muscle memory. We learn how far forward we can go on the court and where to place our feet. Then, when it really counts, as in a tournament or league play, we are already practiced and prepared to not commit foot faults. Also, if you need help, ask somebody who is waiting to play to be a kitchen judge. If we help each other in practice, then we all help elevate the sport itself. • Rusty Howes is the Executive Producer and creator of Pickleball Channel. Rusty worked for the likes of Warner Bros and Disney before creating Pickleball Channel to develop and provide fantast